UVa Women's Golfers Debut at No. 9 in Coaches Poll

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Charlottesville, VA – The Virginia women’s golf team is ranked No. 9 in the Golf World/NGCA Division I Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Cavaliers open their season Sunday at the Collegiate Match Play Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Arizona State, which captured its record seventh NCAA title last May, is the number one team in the poll, earning 34 of 41 first-place votes. Pac-10 rivals Southern California and UCLA are ranked Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, in the poll. Both earned first-place votes, the Trojans receiving five and the Bruins getting two. Oklahoma State (No. 4) and Denver (No. 5) round out the top-five.

Three Cavaliers were ranked among Golfworld’s “Top 50 Female Players to Watch” list. Senior Whitney Neuhauser and junior Calle Nielson were joined by freshman Brittany Altomare. Neuhauser led UVa with a 73.42 stroke average last season, racking up four top-10 finishes. Nielson was sixth at the NCAA Championships and had six top-10s during the year. Both players earned All-America honors. Altomare, who played in this year’s U.S. Open, is one of six freshmen included on the list.

Jennifer Song, a sophomore from Southern California, is number one on the list of the “Top 50 Female Players to Watch.”

Golf World/NGCA Division I Preseason Coaches’ Poll

RK Team Points ’09 NCAA Finish

1. Arizona State (34) 1,016 1st

2. Southern California (5) 911 3rd

3. UCLA (2) 909 2nd

4. Oklahoma State 763 4th

5. Denver 760 5th

6. Wake Forest 709 T-13

7 Alabama 693 11t

8. Auburn 684 DNP

9. Virginia 678 8th

10. Duke 650 6th

11. LSU 646 12th

12. Purdue 532 10th

13. Pepperdine 527 9th

14. Georgia 455 15th

15. North Carolina 389 7th

16. Arkansas 346 DNP

17. Arizona 342 16th

18. Tennessee 215 17th

19. California 208 DNP

20. Michigan State 204 T-13

21. Vanderbilt 170 DNP

22. Stanford 167 DNP

23. Louisville 158 DNP

24. Kent State 128 DNP

25. New Mexico 127 19th

Also receiving votes: Texas, 122; San Jose State, 120; Ohio State, 116; Florida, 114; TCU, 84; Tulane, 64; Georgia State, 43; Texas A&M, 40; UNLV, 34; BYU, 24; Chattanooga, 24; Missouri, 21; Notre Dame, 18; Oklahoma, 18; Oregon, 16; UCF, 11; Washington, 11; East Carolina, 9; Mississippi, 9; New Mexico State, 8; Florida State, 7; Michigan 7; South Carolina, 7; San Francisco, 3; Baylor, 2; UC Irvine, 2; Maryland, 1; Oregon State, 1; Penn State, 1; San Diego State, 1.

First-place votes in parenthesis